The 1965 Formula One season was the 19th season of FIA

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

racing. It featured the 16th World Championship of Drivers, the 8th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, and seven non-championship races open to Formula One cars. The World Championship was contested over ten races between 1 January and 24 October 1965.

Jim Clark James Clark (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British racing driver from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from to . Clark won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles with Lotus, and—at the time of his death—held the ...

won the Drivers' Championship in a Lotus-

Climax Climax may refer to: Language arts * Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work * Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance Biology * Climax community, a biological community th ...

. It was his second and last championship. Lotus were also awarded the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers for the second time.

Teams and drivers

The following

teams A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interd ...

and drivers competed in the 1965 FIA

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Driver changes

Three future champions made their debuts in 1965: *

Jackie Stewart Sir John Young "Jackie" Stewart (born 11 June 1939) is a British former racing driver, sports broadcasting, broadcaster and motorsport executive from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Scottish people, Scot" ...

replaced

Richie Ginther Paul Richard "Richie" Ginther (5 August 1930 – 20 September 1989) was an American racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Ginther won the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix with Honda. Born in Hollywood, Ginther competed in Formula One f ...

at BRM, after the American driver was invited to join the

Honda F1 The Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda has participated in Formula One, as an engine manufacturer and team owner, for various periods since 1964. They have been active as engine manufacturers since , producing the Honda V6 hybrid Formula ...

team. *

Denny Hulme Denis Clive Hulme (18 June 1936 – 4 October 1992) was a New Zealand racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Bear", Hulme won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Brabham, and won eight Grands Pri ...

was signed by

Brabham Motor Racing Developments Ltd., commonly known as Brabham ( ), was a British race car, racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. It was founded in 1960 by the Australian driver Jack Brabham and the British-Australian designer Ron Ta ...

, racing with team owner

Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Brabham won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , and , ...

and veteran

Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, engineer and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of motorspo ...

. * Having entered one race in ,

Jochen Rindt Karl Jochen Rindt (; 18 April 1942 – 5 September 1970) was a racing driver, who competed under the Austrian flag in Formula One from to . Rindt won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Lotus, and remains the only driver to ...

was offered a full-time seat at Cooper, after champion

Phil Hill Philip Toll Hill Jr. (April 20, 1927 – August 28, 2008) was an American racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Hill won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and won three Grands Prix across eight seas ...

had retired from single-seater racing.

Calendar

Calendar changes

* The

South African Grand Prix The South African Grand Prix was first run as a Grand Prix motor racing handicap race in 1934 at the Prince George Circuit at East London, South Africa, East London, Cape Province. It drew top drivers from Europe including Bernd Rosemeyer, Ri ...

was moved forward a week, which meant it would not be the last round of

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

but the first round of 1965. * The

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championship. It is one of the oldest ...

was moved from

Rouen-Les-Essarts Rouen-Les-Essarts was a motor racing circuit in Orival, Seine-Maritime, Orival, near Rouen, France. From its opening in 1950, Rouen-Les-Essarts was recognized as one of Europe's finest circuits, with modern pits, a wide track, and spectator gra ...

to Charade Circuit for a year. * The

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...

was moved from

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

, in keeping with the event-sharing arrangement between the two circuits. * The

Dutch Grand Prix The Dutch Grand Prix () is an annual Formula One World Championship auto racing event, held at Circuit Zandvoort, North Holland, the Netherlands, from 1950 through 1985, and after a 35 year hiatus, from 2021 to 2026. It has been a part of the ...

was moved from the middle of May to the middle of July. * The

Austrian Grand Prix The Austrian Grand Prix () is a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile sanctioned motor racing event that was held in , –, and –. It returned to the Formula One calendar in , where it has remained since then. It was first held at ...

was run as a

sports car A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...

race.

Championship report

Rounds 1 to 3

For the first time, the championship started in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and it did on the very first day of the year. Sixteen drivers were invited to the event and guaranteed a place on the grid. There were four places remaining, but fourteen drivers applied. Through pre-qualifying and subsequent qualifying, the grid was filled. The drivers started in order of their fastest qualifying times: champion

in his Lotus-

was on

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

, ahead of champion

John Surtees John Norman Surtees (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British racing driver and motorcycle road racer, who competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from to , and Formula One from to . Surtees was a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycl ...

(

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

) and and champion

(

). After the start, Clark led away with his teammate Mike Spence up to second. Not many changes in positions happened after that, until Brabham's engine started misfiring, leaking oil, and sending Spence in a spin on the next lap. The podium was taken by Clark, Surtees and champion

Graham Hill Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver, rower and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "Mr. Monaco", Hill won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles ...

( BRM). Spence and Brabham finished fourth and eighth, respectively. Just short of a full five months later, the

Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix () is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the wo ...

was held and for this race, the organisers guaranteed one place on the grid for each factory team. The rest of the applicants had to be fast enough during qualifying to gain a starting ticket. In disagreement, Lotus decided to withdraw from the event, instead entering the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

a day later. Hill started on pole position, ahead of Brabham and Hill's teammate

. Brabham fell back and the two BRMs led away. Hill lost a lot of time when he had to avoid a backmarker, going up the escape road and having to push his car back onto the track. On lap 30, Stewart spun coming out of the fastest corner, before Brabham's Climax engine seized. Hill made it back into the lead, ahead of the Ferraris of Bandini and Surtees. Richard Attwood crashed in the hairpin, the leaders narrowly avoiding him, before Paul Hawkins crashed into the harbour. His car sank to the bottom but Hawkins was unhurt, as was Attwood. Hill took the win, ahead of Bandini and Stewart, after Surtees ran out of fuel with a lap to go. For the Belgian Grand Prix, Hill started on pole again, ahead of Clark and Stewart. Rain fell and everyone held a safe distance from the car in front, except Clark, who took the lead through the most dangerous corner on the track, the ''Masta Kink''. He quickly pulled out a big lead and even lapped Hill. Stewart finished second, ahead of

Bruce McLaren Bruce Leslie McLaren (30 August 1937 – 2 June 1970) was a New Zealand racing driver, automotive designer, engineer and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . McLaren was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Champ ...

, Brabham and Hill. Attwood crashed at ''Masta'', his Lotus breaking in half and catching fire, but the driver escaping with only minor burns.

( Lotus) was leading the Drivers' Championship with 18 points, ahead of

( BRM, 15) and debutant

(BRM, 11). In the Manufacturers' Championship, BRM was leading with 19 points, ahead of Lotus (18) and

(12).

Rounds 4 to 7

The

was run for the first time at the

Circuit de Charade The Circuit de Charade, also known as Circuit Louis Rosier and Circuit Clermont-Ferrand, is a motorsport race track in Saint-Genès-Champanelle near Clermont-Ferrand in the Puy-de-Dôme Departments of France, department in Auvergne (region), Auve ...

, which was described as a quicker, twistier version of the

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

. Championship leader

qualified his Lotus on

, ahead of two "number two drivers":

( BRM) and

Lorenzo Bandini Lorenzo Bandini (21 December 1935 – 10 May 1967) was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Bandini won the 1964 Austrian Grand Prix with Ferrari. In endurance racing, Bandini won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in , as w ...

(

). Their respective team leaders,

and

, started thirteenth and fourth. Except from Bandini's accident on lap 36, the race finished as it started: Clark claimed another Grand Slam victory, ahead of Stewart and Surtees. Hill recovered to fifth. The

was run at

, where Clark scored another pole position, ahead of Hill and

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

driver

. At the start, Ginther challenged Clark for the lead, but fell back to fourth and then retired on lap 26. Surtees was fighting for third place against Lotus driver Mike Spence, while his team leader suddenly slowed down. The

engine was losing oil and Clark was coasting round the corners, only using power on the straights. Hill did anything within his might to chase his rival down, but the Lotus hang on to finish with 3 seconds to spare. Surtees came in third. Start of 1965 Dutch Grand Prix

The

was run just a week later and all eyes were on Clark. It was his rival Hill, however, that scored pole position. Clark started in second, Ginther again in third. Moments before the flag fell, Lotus team owner

Colin Chapman Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (19 May 1928 – 16 December 1982) was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of the sports car company Lotus Cars. Chapman founded Lotus in 1952 and initia ...

was involved in a brawl with the Dutch

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

. It would result in his

arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be question ...

and a two-day

imprisonment Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

. The race went on unhindered, however, and saw Ginther take the lead. On lap 5, Hill and Clark were back at the front, with the Lotus soon getting ahead. Hill then lost second place to his teammate Stewart and third place to

driver

. Clark scored his fifth win of the season, ahead of Stewart, his fourth podium, and Gurney, his first podium of the year. It was Clark on top again during qualifying for the

German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix () was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history: the Nürburgring in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hockenheimring in B ...

, with more than 3 seconds over the BRMs of Stewart and Hill. At the start, Surtees's gearbox went wrong and he fell back. It would lead to his retirement on lap 11. Clark and Hill were fighting for the lead, while Stewart's suspension failed and he handed third place to Gurney. Clark broke the lap record a couple of times and won his fifth consecutive race. It was the first time since

in that a driver achieved this feat. Hill was second, Gurney third.

( Lotus) was still leading the Drivers' Championship, now at 54 points, ahead of

( BRM, 30) and

(BRM, 25). Hill would have to win the remaining three races to prevent Clark from becoming champion. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Lotus led with 54 points, ahead of BRM (39) and

Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari (; ), currently racing under Scuderia Ferrari HP, is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing. The team is also known by the nickname "the Pranc ...

(21).

Rounds 8 to 10

Championship favourite

( Lotus) achieved his fifth

of the year at the

Italian Grand Prix The Italian Grand Prix () is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, motor racing Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been held since 1921 ...

, ahead of

for

and

for BRM. At the start, Surtees had problems with his

clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...

, so Clark and Stewart were followed by

, who had to finish first to stay in the race for the championship. The top three were engaged in a ''slipstream battle'' and the lead changed hands lap after lap. With ten laps to go, Clark suddenly stopped with a failing

fuel pump A Fuel pump is a component used in many liquid-fuelled engines (such as petrol/gasoline or diesel engines) to transfer the fuel from the fuel tank to the device where it is mixed with the intake air (such as the carburetor or fuel inject ...

, so Hill and Stewart were free to fight over the win in equal machinery. Going into the last lap, Hill touched the grass with his outer wheels, almost spinning but certainly valuable seconds. Stewart won his first race, with Hill in second and

in third. Despite Clark's retirement, Hill's second place meant that the 1965 championship was now decided. Hill started on pole for the

United States Grand Prix The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. , the Grand Prix has been held ...

, ahead of Clark and

driver

. Clark quickly grabbed the lead but soon retired with a broken

piston A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder (engine), cylinder a ...

. As it had happened more often, Ginther fell back, while his American rival Gurney went up the order. He came within four seconds of Hill when the

Brit Brit most commonly refers to: * Briton, a British person Brit, Brits or BRIT may also refer to: People Nicknames * Brit Hume (born 1943), American TV journalist * Brit Selby (born 1945), Canadian ice-hockey player * Brit Smith (born 1985), ...

slid off the track, but when he made a mistake himself, his team leader

took second place. The

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n challenged Hill for the lead, but was unable to get by, and then became the third top-runner to take to the grass. The order at the finish was Hill, Gurney, Brabham. Lotus clinched the Manufacturers' Championship, seeing that BRM could no longer catch them in the last race. The season ended with the

Mexican Grand Prix The Mexican Grand Prix (), currently held under the name Mexico City Grand Prix (), is a motor racing event held at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. It first appeared as a non-championship event in 1962 before being held as a ...

, where Clark scored another pole position, ahead of Americans Gurney and Ginther. The Honda driver took the lead at the start, while Stewart got up to second, before being passed by Mike Spence. His teammate Clark suffered his third consecutive retirement, before Stewart went out at the half-way point, and Hill's engine gave out with ten laps to go. Gurney passed Spence for second place and came within 3 seconds of the leader, but Ginther held on to his and Honda's first win.

( Lotus) was awarded the 1965 Drivers' Championship after scoring 54 points, ahead of

( BRM, 40) and

(BRM, 33). Lotus clinched the Manufacturers' Championship as well, with 54 points, ahead of BRM (45), with

just overtaking

for third place (27 and 26 points, respectively).

Results and standings

Grands Prix

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top six classified finishers. Only the best six results counted towards the championship. The International Cup for F1 Manufacturers only counted the points of the highest-finishing driver for each race. Additionally, like the Drivers' Championship, only the best six results counted towards the cup. Numbers without parentheses are championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored. Points were awarded in the following system:

World Drivers' Championship standings

International Cup for F1 Manufacturers standings

*Bold results counted to championship totals.

Non-championship races

Other Formula One races were also held in 1965, which did not count towards the World Championship. The last of them, the 1965 Rand Grand Prix, was the first Formula One race for cars with 3-litre engines.

Notes

References

External links

1965 World Championship images at www.f1-photo.com

1965 World Championship race results and images at www.f1-facts.com

1965 FIA Formula One World Championship results at Formula1.com
(archived) {{Formula One Championship Formula One seasons